Dark Side of Love
by emeraldgal
Summary: No one ever listened to Dib, not even when he tried to warn everyone about an alien who is trying to enslave the earth. But when a new girl come to Fatal Falls and befriends Dib, he finds himself in love. The two start to date. But what will happen when the girl Dib is dating, is the obsession of an alien who plans to destroy Earth? Small AU.
1. Chapter 1

Part One: Dib

Chapter One

17 year old Dib Membrain sat at his school desk staring out the window. He was in his junior year of high school and only a month in. _'Only another year of this,' _Dib thought as he watched the mid October leaves fall to the ground, '_and I'm out of this stupid town.'_ He glanced over at Zim, who was scribbling something on a sheet of paper. _'Probably another plan to enslave humanity and no one even cares! Well they probably would care if they knew...' _No one knew Zim was an alien. No one but Dib. He tried to tell them. He told anyone who was withing ear shot, but no one ever listened.

When Zim first showed up, that day in eighth grade, Dib tried to show everyone. He pointed out Zim's odd skin color, his almost nonexistent nose, but the alien played it off as a skin condition. When Dib asked about Zim's nonexistent ears, the impostor faked a cry. From then on, everyone in class didn't care about Dib. They thought he was shallow because he called Zim an alien. Now thanks to Zim, everyone took his opinion with a grain of salt.

When he cornered Dib at the end of school, he told Zim he knew he was an alien. Dib didn't exactly know what he expected Zim's reaction to be, but he certainly wasn't prepared for what Zim said. That innocent schoolboy look had disappeared from his face and was replaced with a grin of insanity and malice. His eyes were narrowed. Mockery danced within them. "No one will ever believe you," the alien sneered.

From then on, Dib fought Zim and collected evidence against him, but no one would ever listen to him. His dad was too busy working on his projects and didn't have time for his son's 'fantasy stories.' His little sister always avoided him. Then again, she avoided everybody. Gaz liked to keep to herself. _'Just once,' _he wished, _just once I wanted someone to listen. They don't have to believe me. I just want to be heard.'_

"Alright students," his teacher said, snapping Dib back to the present, "We have a new student in our class. Come on in, dear. Don't be shy." The teacher motioned towards her and Dib leaned over in his desk a little to get a better look at the new student. A young girl peeked her head in the door way and slowly walked in the room. Her chocolate brown hair fell slightly over her shoulders while her bangs hid most of her forehead. In fact her bangs were slightly long so they slightly fell of her her eyebrows. Her eyes were a dark brown that reminded Dib of black coffee. Her skin was slightly tanned, probably from being outside a lot. She was of average height, most likely 5'7 or 5'8.

She was dressed simply, wearing a dark blue tee shirt and a black half jacket that went down to her ribs. She wore faded blue flare cut jeans and black ankle converse. A simple necklace hung around her neck made from a single string of leather with a dark blue stone threaded on it.

"Why don't you introduce yourself to the class?" the teacher asked.

"I'm Vivienne Johanson," the girl said softly.

"Tell us a little about yourself, Vivienne," the teacher told her.

"I-I'm from Iowa," Vivienne practically whispered, "Um... I lived on a farm and... yeah." Dib could tell all she wanted was for the ground to swallow her up. Yeah, he knew the feeling.

The teacher sighed, knowing that was probably all she was going to get from Vivienne. "Well, you'll need a desk. Why don't you take the one over there?" she said, pointing at the empty desk next to Dib. Vivienne only nodded and quietly sat down in the desk. As soon as she sat down, she looked downwards so her hair covered her face. "Now class, today's lesson is going to focus on linear equations..."

Dib didn't really pay attention to the lesson. He kept stealing small glancing at Vivienne. Once when he looked over at her, she turned her head and their eyes locked. It was only for a second though, because Dib quickly turned his head back to the board. He could feel his face getting warm. He knew his face was probably pink and silently cursed himself for his paleness. Dib never really felt self conscious, but he suddenly found himself fidgeting and wanting to look in the mirror.

A loud ringing suddenly cut through the room. As the teens filed out the class and towards the cafeteria, Dib looked up to see Vivienne standing in front of his desk. "Hi" she said, giving him a shy smile.

"H-hi..." he said looking at her surprised.

"I'm Vivienne," she said, holding her hand out to him.

"Uh, Dib," he told her shaking her hand slowly.

"You wanna go get lunch?" she asked smiling.

"Sure," he said, getting up. The two walked side by side to the cafeteria.

"So Dib, how long have you lived in Fatal Falls?" Vivienne asked, breaking the silence between them.

"My whole life," Dib said, handing her a tray. She took it and thanked him. "What about you? How many times have you moved?"

"This is my first," Vivienne admitted as a lunch lady plopped some grayish lump on her tray, "I miss that little farm."

"So you're a country girl?"

Vivienne shot him a grin. "Born and raised," she laughed. The two sat at an empty table. Dib noticed that as soon as they sat down whispers erupted from all the tables. Apparently Vivienne noticed too because a small frown tugged at her lips. "Why are people whispering?" she asked, "We only sat down."

"Uh, people don't usually talk with me much less sit with me at lunch" Dib admitted awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Why not? You seem like a cool guy."

Dib blushed slightly at the compliment. "Everyone thinks I'm crazy."

Vivienne cocked her head to the left in confusion. "Why would they think that?"

"I, uh... am kinda into the paranormal," he said looking around, not really able to look into her eyes.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah..."

"That's pretty cool," she said smiling.

"Really?" he asked, looking at her surprised.

"Yeah. I think that kinda of stuff is kinda interesting."

"Seriously? I mean, I've never met anyone who was into it."

"Well you just did," Vivienne said, grinning at him. Dib smiled back. "Did you hear about the Bigfoot sighting in Mississippi?"

"Yeah!" Did exclaimed "That footage was incredible!"

"I know right? They also found this really clean foot print and made a cast of it!" Vivienne said excitedly, practically bouncing up and down on her seat.

"Really? That is so cool!" The two new friends spent the rest of the lunch hour talking about recent sightings, hoaxes, and research. Vivienne and Dib walked to class together and kept chatting until the teacher called for class to start.

As soon as the last bell rung, everyone jumped out of their seats and ran out the door. Well, everyone except Vivienne and Dib. "Hey, uh, Vivienne," Dib asked rather nervously, "You wanna come over? We could do our math homework together."

"Sure Dib," Vivienne smiled, "Just give me a sec to call my mom." She dialed a number on her cell phone. "Hey Mom! _Pause. _No, everything's fine. I was just wondering if I could go over to a friend's house to work on homework. _Pause. _No, he's a guy. _Longer pause. _No! Of course not, Mom!" A light blush dusted her cheeks. _Pause. _Till like, 8? _Pause. _Kay, Mom. Love you." She pressed a button and put the cell phone in her back pocket. "Mom said I could stay till eight. Is that cool?"

"Yeah," Dib said smiling.

"Cool. Let's go." The two teens got their bags and walked to Dib's house.

Dib led Vivienne into his house. Dib's little sister Gaz was on the couch playing a video game and seemed pretty engrossed with. She didn't even look up when the door opened. he motioned her to follow him and led her up the stairs and into his room. While Dib shut the door, Vivienne looked around.

"Dib. Your room looks so cool!" she exclaimed.

"Really?" Dib asked shocked. Of all the things she could have said, he was expecting that.

"Yeah! It looks like the inside of Supernova!" It was true. He had posters of all paranormal shows taped on the walls. Articles of strange sightings and claims from newspapers and magazines were tacked to a cork board and the walls. On his desk were gadgets of all shapes and sizes. Vivienne didn't really know what they were for, but they looked cool.

She sat on his bed and patted the spot next to her. Dib walked over and sat next to her. Vivienne dumped out the contents of her bag in front of them on the bed. "Let's get our stupid math homework out of the way," she said grinning. Laughing, Dib agreed and got out his homework. The two spent the next 20 minutes solving and graphing their math equations.

Dib didn't really need Vivienne's help with math. Actually, he was probably the smartest in his class. He just wanted to spend more time with Vivienne. But could anyone really blame him? She was the first person to willingly hang out with him. She actually listened to him. And she liked the paranormal! How awesome was that?

He also had to admit, it was pretty funny watching her solve the equations. When she was focused, she would bite her bottom lip and cock her head to the side slightly. When she was thinking, she would tap the eraser of her pencil on her lips and look thoughtfully at the ceiling.

But the cutest thing was when she was confused or couldn't solve a problem. She was literally glare down at the paper. Her lips would set into a small pout. And that is what she was doing right now. Dib let out a small laugh and she sent him a mock glare. "And just what is so funny, Dib?" she huffed. Dib chuckled.

"Having a little trouble?" he asked grinning.

"Wipe that grin off your face," she said, trying to seem mad but failed when a huge smile grew on her face. Dib only laughed again, so she threw a pillow at him. He caught it and grinned. "Shut up," she said, looking back at her paper.

"I didn't say anything," he said, grinning cheekily. Vivienne stuck her tongue out at him childishly to which he did the same. "You want some help?" he asked.

Vivienne sighed and nodded. "Yeah. I can't figure out number 21." Dib leaned over and helped her out. When they finally finished their homework, it was only a few minutes until Dib's favorite show since hew was in middle school came on, Mysterious Mysteries. The show was dedicated to anything and everything paranormal or unexplained.

Dib glanced at the clock and shot off the bed like a rocket. "It's almost six!" he cried.

Vivienne's eyes lit up. "Mysterious Mysteries comes on in a few minutes!" she squealed.

Dib looked at her with wide eyes. "You like Mysterious Mysteries?"

"Dude. It's my fave show since I was a kid!"

Grinning like a mad man, Dib grabbed her arm. "Come on, then! We're gonna miss the theme song!" With that, he flew down the stairs with Vivienne right behind them. The two best friends spent the next two hours watching their favorite show and talking about their favorite episodes. For Dib, eight o'clock came way too soon. Vivienne slung her back over one shoulder, waved good bye to Dib, and left for home.

Dib quickly ate his late supper. After he got dressed for bed, he collapsed on his bed and waited for sleep to come. He couldn't wait for tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

Part One: Dib

Chapter 2

Dib woke up early the next morning. He quickly got dressed, brushed his teeth, and fixed his hair. He checked his reflection in the mirror, nodded, and headed down stairs. His twelve year old sister, Gaz, was sitting at the table eating cereal. "Morning, Gaz," Dib said smiling, putting some bread in the toaster.

"What are you so happy about?" Gaz asked, squinting her eyes at him.

"Nothing really," he said as the toast popped up.

"Whatever" she said, turning back to her cereal. Dib shrugged and spread some butter on his toast. The two siblings ate in silence. After breakfast, the two headed off to school. Gaz walked moodily to the middle school while Dib went to the high school. As he walked, Dib began to think. He debated whether or not to tell Vivienne that Zim was an alien. He shook his head.

_'No,'_ he thought, _'She's the only person who doesn't think I'm crazy. I'm not going to let Zim screw this up.'_

He entered the building put his stuff in his locker and walked into the classroom. The teacher wasn't there yet but Zim was. The alien gave him a mocking smirk. Dib glared at him but didn't say anything. He passed Zim's desk and sat in his own by the window. A few more students filed in, Vivienne being one of them. She smiled at Dib as she walked up to her desk.

"Hey, Dib," she said happily, sitting down at her desk. He smiled.

"Hey, Vivienne," he said. She tilted her head to the left a tad and looked at him.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. i'm just tired," he lied.

"Oh, yeah I know what you mean. Why does school have to start so early? If I ever meet the guy who invented high school time schedules I will make him hurt..." she said,"... Or her," she added thoughtfully. Dib laughed at that. "What?" she asked, "I don't wanna be sexist!" Dib only smiled and shook his head as their teacher walked into the room. The bell rang signalling school to start.

At lunch, Vivienne sat with Dib again. And again, the moment she sat down across from him, whispers erupted from the other students. Dib looked down at what was supposed to be his lunch. He was used to all of the whispers and murmurs.

Vivienne on the other hand wasn't so nonchalant about it. Her right eye twitched as she glared at the teens around her out of the corner of her eye. She didn't last. Not even 30 seconds had passed before she stood up and shouted, "What the hell are you whispering about?! Haven't you seen two people eat lunch before?! Or are all of your lives so dull that this is interesting?! God!"

She flopped back down onto her seat and took a violent bite of whatever the grey lump was. Everyone starred at her. "WHAT?!" she screamed. The students hurriedly looked down at their trays and pretended very hard to be eating. Vivienne turned to Dib who was starring at her in utter disbelief. "What?" she asked innocently.

"What was that?" he asked.

"They were pissing me off," she said simply, taking a sip from her milk carton and grimaced. She looked at the expiration date and rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding me? They're giving us expired milk?"

Dib smiled. "Yeah, I probably should have warned you about that, huh?" he asked.

"No, you think?" she asked sarcastically, but good naturedly. Dib chuckled and poked at the greyish lump on his tray.

After lunch and between history class, Dib and Vivienne were hanging out by his locker. Dib was just telling Vivienne about a UFO sighting in Missouri, when Mathew, the most popular and biggest player in the school, walked up behind Vivienne. He tapped on her shoulder and leaned casually against a locker.

"Hey babe," he said, flashing her two rows of perfectly white teeth, "Why don't you ditch the loser and hang out with me? I think you're even hot enough to hang out with me." Vivienne arched an eyebrow.

"Thanks," she said sarcastically. Mathew laughed.

"Seriously though, you could be pretty popular if you didn't hang out with him." He pointed to Dib. "I don't see why you do. He's crazy."

"Well, if he's crazy, then I must be the Mad Hatter. And would you look at the time?" She leaned forward and shouted in the jocks face, "YOU'RE LATE FOR TEA!" Mathew stumbled backward.

"What the hell?" he yelled. Vivienne just laughed and high fived Dib.

"Come on, Dib," she said, "Let's get to class." Dib chuckled to himself and followed her.

The next few months went by fast. Dib found he was actually liking school ever since he met Vivienne. She came over almost every day after school. Sometimes he went over to her place. When ever he did, her mom would set out some snicker doodle cookies and milk for them. "Brain food," she had said with a wink the first time he went over.

He never saw her father around, but figured out why when he saw a picture of a southern looking man in a military uniform on the mantle. Vivienne saw him looking at it and explained that he had died about a year ago. When he heard this, Dib stuttered out an apology, by Vivienne waved it away. "It's fine, Dibbers," she said with a smile, "You didn't know."

'Dibbers' was the nickname she had given him around early November. She seemed quite proud that she had come up with a name that relate to Big Head or Crazy. He usually called her Viv or (very rarely) Vivi.

As weeks went on, their friendship grew. The first week of December, Dib finally realized how much Vivienne had grown on him. Whenever he got bullied, she stood up for him. When no one would listen to him, she would. But the one thing that finally sealed there friendship was when she told him her secret.

They had to write a persuasive speech for Language in mid November and present it to the class. Everyone would be graded on the speech it's self and how fluent you spoke. They had a week to prepare their speeches and it was Vivienne's day to present. But Vivienne wasn't in her desk and Dib knew she had come to had slept over at his place and walked to school with him.

Dib asked to go to the bathroom and the teacher let him go. He found her in the janitor's closet crying. Her usually sturdy frame shook with sobs. Dib knelt down and put his arm around her. He let her cry into his shoulder. He was confused. He knew she had finished her speech. They had worked on it at his house. "What's the matter, Viv?" he asked softly. She only shook her head.. "Is it stage fright?" he guessed. She shook her head again. "Then what is it? you can tell me, Viv. You're my best friend."

Vivienne slowly took her face out of his shoulder and looked at him. "I can't give my speech," she whispered, wiping her eyes, smearing her already running mascara even more.

"Why not?"

"I'm dyslexic," she said softly, hanging her head in shame. "That's why I hate when I have to read out of the text book in class. I always stumble and stutter. B's and D's always get switched up. So do J's and L's. Sometimes I don't know my lefts from my rights."

"Hey," Dib said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder, "You don't have to give your speech."

"Yes I do," she cried softly, 'It's mandatory if I want to pass the class!"

"Come on," he said, pulling her to her feet. She hiccuped another sob racked her body. Dib put an arm around her shoulder. 'I'm taking you to the school nurse."

'Why?" Vivienne asked, sniffing.

"Because you, my friend, are a wreck and need rest," he said. Vivienne gave a short laugh.

"Thanks, Dibbers," she said. He smiled.

"No problem."

"But what about the speech?" she asked, rubbing her eye.

"I'll explain everything to Mrs. Emme. I'm sure she'll figure something out for you." Vivienne looked at him in alarm.

"You're not going to tell anyone else, are you?" she asked frantically.

"What? That you're dyslexic? Of course not," he assured her, "But just so you know, I don't think being dyslexic makes you any less awesome than you already are." Vivienne grinned and gave him a playful shove.

"Now you're just being cheesy," she laughed.

Dib grinned, "Don't know if you noticed, but being cheesy if kinda my thing." Vivienne laughed again and the two walked down to the nurses office.


	3. Chapter 3

Part One: Dib

Chapter Three

On the second week of December, Mrs. Emme announced at the end of homeroom that the Winter Formal would be hosted on the 22nd. The boys groaned while all of the girls cheered, except Vivienne who groaned along with the guys. During lunch, Vivienne complained to Dib, "A dance? They have got to be kidding! There is no way that I'm getting all gussied up just to stand there while guys don't show up and girls cry about how unfair life is." She repeatedly stabbed at the so called 'mashed potatoes'. Dib looked down at his tray awkwardly.

"I've never gone to any of the school's dances," he admitted. Vivienne snorted, completely oblivious to the light blush dusting his cheeks.

"Lucky! My mom made me go to the spring dance at my old school. Man, did I wanted to punch every girl in that gym in the face more than ever before," she muttered.

"Yeah..." Dib agreed, not really hearing her. Vivienne set down her fork.

"You okay, dude?" she asked.

"What? Oh, yeah. I'm fine." Vivienne gave him a 'Don't-try-to-lie-to-me-you-suck-at-it' look.

"Dib, I don't what's sadder, that you think you can lie or that you think I'd believe you."

"I just," he said, racking his brain for a lie, "don't get the point of school dances, you know?" Vivienne nodded.

"Oh, I hear you there, dude. I hear you there." She looked down at her lunch. "We really need to start bringing our own lunches."

"Yeah, why don't we do that?" Dib asked.

"Eh, we're too lazy," she said, putting her elbow on the table and leaning her cheek against her palm. Dib laughed.

Fast forward a week and Dib still hadn't gathered up the courage to ask Vivienne to the dance. Every time he started to, someone or something interrupted them. Either it was the school bell or a teacher. And by that time, he had lost his nerve. His days were numbered and he finally realized this when at lunch one Thursday Vivienne said, "Yeah, unless someone asks, I don't think I'm going." He knew he had to suck it up and do it, but still he never could.

Days passed until it was Thursday 21, the day before the dance. Looking at the date on his alarm clock that morning was like a slap in the face. This was his chance to finally tell her how he feel and he was blowing it. That morning he vowed he would ask Vivienne to the Winter Formal.

Well, vowing and actually doing what you vowed are two completely different things. In Homeroom, he had a few minutes before class started to ask her. She was sitting on her desk drawing something in her sketch book. He saw the moment he walked into the classroom. He could have easily asked then, but he chickened out and walked straight to his desk.

All throughout the day he either chickened out or couldn't find her. Lunch was awkward for him. Vivienne was talking about the dissection unit in science, but he really wasn't listening. He was debating whether or not to ask her right then, but decided against it. He really didn't want to ask her in front of the whole grade.

The school day ended and everyone was heading home. Dib and Vivienne were walking home together like they usually did. She had just waved goodbye and had turned to go down her street when he ran after her.

"Vivienne!" he called, running up to her. She turned around.

"Yeah?" she asked, turning around.

"Do you... do you want to, um, maybe go to the Winter Formal with, with me?" he asked nervously. She looked at him a little shocked.

"Y-yeah, sure," she said, a bit surprised.

"Cool. I'll, uh... see you tomorrow?" he said awkwardly.

"Y-yeah."

"Bye," he said, starting to walk away.

"Bye," she said quietly.

For Dib, Friday went by way too slow. He kept glancing at the clock in last period. It seemed as if time hated him. The second hand seemed to tick slower every second. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the school bell rang. Not wanting to deal with an awkward walk home, Dib left without waiting for Vivienne.

Six o'clock rolled around and Dib was more nervous than ever. His dad let him borrow the car to pick Vivienne up. He was looking in the mirror for the thousandth time. His sister Gaz was sitting on the couch playing her Game Slave 2. "Just go already!" she told him, fed up with his nervous pacing.

"Alright,' he said, taking the keys of their hook. "I'll be back around nine."

"Whatever," Gaz mumbled.

He pulled up to Vivienne's house and rang the doorbell. He pulled at the collar of his rented tux nervously. The door opened and there stood Vivienne, but Dib barely recognized her. She was wearing an ankle length, strapless turquoise dress with a sweet heart top and satin sash. Her heels were black and so were her gloves that went to her mid forearm. Her chocolate colored hair was done up in a messy bun with loose curls framing her face. "Hey Dib,' she said shyly.

"Hey," he said lost for words, "Uh, you look beautiful." She blushed.

"Thank you." Vivienne's mom walked in the doorway and handed Vivienne her coat.

"Thanks Mom," Vivienne said.

"Ready?" Dib asked, offering his arm.

"Yep," she said, taking his arm and let him lead her to the car.

"Have fun you two!" Vivienne's mother called. The ride to the school wa short and they made it in a matter of minutes. Dib got out first and went around to open the door and help her out. Vivienne smiled and thanked him. he lead her into the school and they got their picture taken at the entrance, just like all of the other couples.

The dance theme was Midnight in Paris and it was pretty convincing. The lights were dimmed low and the stringed lights hooked on the walls like growing ivy added a warm glow. On tables to the right was punch and a chocolate fountain with plenty of fruit, cookies, and marshmallows to dip in it.

The next three hours was actually really fun for the two. During the fast songs, Vivienne danced like no one was there. At first Dib stood against the wall and watched her, but that didn't last long. Soon she had pulled him onto the dance floor and they danced like crazy maniacs. When Sexy And I Know It came on, Vivienne started to sing along and when she tried to hit the low note, she failed so epically that they busted out laughing and had to sit out the next song because they were laughing so hard.

When they regained their breath, the two went over to the tables. They each had a cup of punch and Dib was about to lead her back to the dance floor, when he saw her at the chocolate fountain. She was starring at it like it was liquid gold. The look on her face was so funny that Dib had to laugh. Vivienne noticed and punched him playfully in the arm. They spent the next few songs by the fountain having the time of their lives. Vivienne dipped a marshmallow in the fountain and fed it to him. At the same time, he dipped a strawberry in and fed it to her. She laughed and wiped off a dot of chocolate that had somehow gotten on his nose. He smiled at her.

After they had eaten about half of the snacks and even more of the chocolate, the two made it back to the dance floor. Just as they did, the DJ put on a slow song. All of the couples on the floor got together. Vivienne smiled and put her arms on Dib's shoulders. He blushed and gave her a small smile as he put his around her waist. They swayed gently to the music, completely unaware of everyone else around them. Dib looked down, for he was about an inch or so taller than her, and smiled at her. Vivienne smiled back, her deep coffee colored eyes shining in the warm glow.

As the song started to end, Dib took his chance. Slowly, he leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers. Vivienne, not missing a beat, wrapped her arms tighter around his neck and pulled him closer to her. They pulled away after a bit. Dib looked at her and she smirked. "It's about time, Dibbers," she said. Dib only smiled as the clock struck nine and the lights started to brighten, signaling the end of the dance.

Dib lead her outside, his arm around her waist and her head on his shoulder. He opened the door for her and she got in smiling. The whole drive to her house, they kept glancing at each other and smiling. They pulled up to her house and he walked her to the front door. "Thanks, Dib," she said, "I had a fun time."

"Me too,' he said, "Hey, do you maybe, wanna meet up for lunch tomorrow?" Vivienne smiled.

"I'd love too," she said and kissed him on the cheek. "Night Dib."

"Night," he said. She went inside and he walked to the car. The whole ride home, Dib was smiling.


End file.
